HSS concepts and lists

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes.

Post-truth society

A cultural and political context in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Pre-modern society

Given truth — truth is revealed or externally determined (e.g. by religion).

Modern society

Found truth — positivist belief that truth can be discovered objectively.

Postmodern society

Made truth — constructivist view, truth is socially constructed and perspectival.

Post-postmodern society

Truth as marketable product — what sells becomes the truth.

Science (definition used for this course)

Science is the more or less systematic search for knowledge by experts, who react to earlier knowledge and share their ideas with others.

Social institution

A custom, a system of social relationships, including power relations, or a set of rules for conduct which endures through a long period and which, in a certain sense, exists independently of the persons enacting it.

Institutionalisation

Occurs whenever there is a reciprocal typification of habitualized actions by types of actors. With time, these formations gain historicity and are experienced as objective facticities — external, undeniable structures.

Thomas Theorem

If [people] define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.

Social construction of reality

1. The sociology of knowledge analyzes the social construction of reality. 2. Reality is intersubjective; shared but perspectival. 3. Social order is a product of human activity. 4. All human activity is subject to habitualization. 5. Institutionalization = reciprocal typification of habitualized actions. 6. Institutions gain objectivity over time. 7. Institutions come to be experienced as real. 8. They have coercive power over individuals. 9. Key mechanisms: roles, sanctions, symbols — used to maintain the institutional order.

Agnotology

The investigation of the causes and effects of ignorance or knowledgelessness. Ignorance is not merely the absence of knowledge, but is a social product as much as knowledge is.

Janus Head

Refers to the dual face of science: ready-made science (solidified knowledge) vs science in the making (disordered, uncertain, in process). Based on Latour’s metaphor.

Wilhelm von Humboldt model

Focus on Bildung (personal growth), integration of teaching and research, emphasis on seminars and student-led research (thesis writing) and professorial academic freedom.

Positive modalities (Latour)

Sentences that lead a statement away from its conditions of production, making it solid enough.

Negative modalities (Latour)

Sentences that lead a statement in the other direction towards its conditions of production and that explain in detail why it is solid or weak.

Key questions of sociology (C. Wright Mills + course)

1. What is the structure of this society? 2. Where does this society stand in human history? 3. What types of people prevail here — how are they shaped? 4. Structure vs agency: to what extent can people control their lives?

Foundational texts of Emile Durkheim

1. The Division of Labor in Society (1893) 2. The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) 3. Suicide: A Study in Sociology (1897) 4. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912)

Social fact (Durkheim)

A social fact is to be recognized by the power of external coercion which it exercises or is capable of exercising over individuals, and the presence of this power may be recognized in its turn either by the existence of some specific sanction or by the resistance offered against every individual effort that tends to violate it.

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge — it investigates the nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge.

Paradigm (Kuhn)

A set of shared practices and assumptions that define scientific research within a discipline. Paradigms guide what questions are asked, what methods are used, and what counts as legitimate evidence.

Normal science

Puzzle-solving within a dominant paradigm. Scientists work within established frameworks until anomalies force a paradigm shift. (Kuhn’s model of scientific progress)

Fields of anthropology

1. Cultural (or social) anthropology 2. Physical (or biological) anthropology 3. Archaeology 4. Linguistic anthropology

Pseudo-science

Claims and activities that do not measure up to the requirements of science, but are nevertheless professed to do so. Pseudoscience involves the promotion of claims that contradict results and conclusions from mainstream science that there is no valid reason

Criteria of Pseudo-science

1. Criterion of scientific domain – It claims to belong to the domain of science. 2. Criterion of unreliability – It lacks empirical support or methodological soundness. 3. Criterion of deviant doctrine – It contradicts well-established scientific results without good reason.

Forms of Pseudo-science

1. Science denialism – The rejection of well-established scientific facts or consensus (e.g. climate change denial). 2. Pseudo-theory promotion – Promoting unverified or disproven ideas as if they were scientifically valid.

Epistemological Characteristics of Pseudo-science

1. Cherry-picking – Selective use of evidence that supports one’s view while ignoring contrary data. 2. Fake controversy – Presenting non-scientific claims as if they were legitimate scientific debates. 3. Deviant criteria of assent – Placing unreasonable demands on accepted science to discredit it and advance unscientific alternatives. 4. Neglect of refuting information – Ignoring evidence that contradicts one’s claims.

Sociological Characteristics of Pseudo-science

1. The “enemy theory” threatens the denialists’ worldview. 2. The enemy theory is complex or hard to understand. 3. Lack of scientific competence among promoters. 4. Strong male dominance in pseudoscientific communities. 5. Inability to publish in peer-reviewed journals. 6. Embrace of conspiracy theories. 7. Direct appeals to the public rather than experts. 8. Pretending widespread scientific support. 9. Aggressive attacks on legitimate scientists. 10. Political alliances or connections that bolster their claims.

Serendipity

The process of discovering something valuable unintentionally. The combination of an accident with sagacity or perspicacity in understanding. The accidental discovery of something that, post hoc, turns out to be valuable. Effort and luck joined by alertness and flexibility.

Bisociation

The creative fusion of unrelated ideas to generate innovation or insight. The interlocking of two previously unrelated skills, or matrices, of thought.

Trends in Science Communication

1. Popularisation - Communicating complex science in an accessible way, often done by charismatic figures in media. 2. Dialogue - Two-way communication model where scientists and public engage in mutual exchange of ideas and concerns. 3. Engagement - Seen as part of universities’ public mission; encourages researchers to directly engage with broader societal needs. 4. Participation - Citizens shape the research agenda; encourages inclusive, democratic participation in science creation and application.

Indigenous Knowledge

Traditional knowledge does not conform to the standard academic Western model of knowledge. It was typically oral rather than written, local rather than universal, partial rather than theoretical, and it concerned matters that were either trivial to knowledge (such as plants and animals) or were actively excluded from the category of knowledge completely (such as religious belief).

Possible Relationships Between Science and Religion

1. Science takes religion as an object of study. 2. Religious forms in science. 3. Religion informs our scientific worldview. 4. Compatibility of science and religion. 5. Science attempts to prove (or disprove) the existence of God.

Decolonizing the University

Increasing the diversity at the university; undoing the white, male, Western dominance of the university. It is more than just improving representation. It entails a structural transformation in knowledge systems, curriculum, and power relations.

Decolonizing Referents

1. It is a way of thinking about the world which takes colonialism, empire and racism as its empirical and discursive objects of study. 2. It purports to offer alternative ways of thinking about the world and alternative forms of political praxis.

Intersectionality

An analytical framework for understanding how a person’s various social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. These intersecting and overlapping identities may be both empowering and oppressing.

Provincializing Europe

Does not mean rejecting and certainly not demonizing; it merely means returning Europe and the West to its proper proportions in the world, as one part of and perspective on the world rather than the hegemonic part and the monopolistic perspective. The goal is to dislodge Europe as the universal reference point in social theory and to make space for multiple centers of knowledge.

The Great Divergence

The problem of the Great Divergence between Western Europe and East Asia is important for social scientists to address simply because it is still with us as a North-South divide. This refers to the economic and technological leap Europe made beginning with the Industrial Revolution — and questioning why it happened in Europe and not China or India, which were historically also powerhouses.

Flying Geese Model

A model to explain how industrialization spreads across regions in a hierarchical fashion.

Ethno-somatic stratification

Ranking and sorting people based on their ethnic background and physical (bodily) traits — like skin color, hair texture, facial features — in ways that create social hierarchies and inequalities.

Patterns of ethno-somatic stratification

1. North American binary mode - rigid black-white binary. 2. Afro-Caribbean pluralist model - racial identity is a continuum, class and skin tone are explicitly linked. 3. North European proletarian incorporation - historically class mattered more than race. 4. Latin American hegemonic mode- more racial mixing and integration.

Modern blackness

A product of the Black Atlantic — a global, transnational identity shaped by the historical connections, struggles, and cultures across Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Black Atlantic

A cultural and historical space formed by the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, emphasizing fluid, hybrid identities that cross national and continental boundaries.

Political blackness

A unifying term used in the UK for all people who experienced racial discrimination, regardless of their specific ethnic background (e.g., Black, Pakistani, etc.).

Non-racialism

The dismantling of the idea of racial difference in governance and institutional practices.

Matilda effect

Refers to the systematic undervaluing or ignoring of women’s scientific contributions, often giving credit to male colleagues instead.

Matthew effect

Describes how initial advantages (like fame or resources) lead to accumulating further success, while those with less are often overlooked.

De-westernization

A shift in academic knowledge to include non-Western perspectives and challenge Eurocentric dominance.

Parochial dinosaur

A critique of organizational science that only uses U.S.-centric theories, ignoring global diversity.

Academic dependency

The reliance of non-Western scholars on Western institutions, ideas, and standards in research.

Dependencia

A situation where one country’s development is conditioned by and dependent on another’s economy.

Dimensions of dependencia

1. Dependence on ideas 2. Dependence on media of ideas 3. Dependence on education technology 4. Dependence on research/teaching aid 5. Dependence on investment in education 6. Dependence on Western demand for scholars

Global Division of Labor (Alatas 2003)

1. Division between theoretical and empirical intellectual labor 2. Division between other-country studies and own-country studies 3. Division between comparative and single case studies

Orientalism

A style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between ‘the Orient’ and (most of the time) ‘the Occident’

Scientific colonialism

The use of science to justify or soften colonialism, portraying it as a normal or even beneficial system rather than one of exploitation.

Academic freedom

The freedom of teachers and students to teach, study, and pursue knowledge and research without unreasonable interference or restriction from law, institutional regulations, or public pressure.

Leftist science

Science that studies issues of social inequality, including gender, race, poverty, undocumented migration, and environmental damage.

Action research

A participatory, democratic process concerned with developing practical knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes, grounded in a participatory worldview.

Activism research

Research initiated by scholars aiming to improve societal inequalities or injustices.

Academic activism

Using one’s academic position to engage in activism, not necessarily through research.

KNAW

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences — emphasizes the societal role of science and open, participatory research.

Commissioned research

Research funded by external parties (e.g., companies, governments) with specific goals or interests.

Humboldt ideal

A model of education focused on personal development (Bildung), combining teaching and research, and emphasizing academic freedom.

Forms of fraud

1. Fabrication – Making up data or results. 2. Falsification – Manipulating research processes or data. 3. Plagiarism – Using others’ work without proper credit.

Neoliberalism

An ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition.

Neoliberalism principles

1. Positive effects of free market 2. Free market as moral value 3. Deregulation 4. Privatization 5. New Public Management

Grade inflation

Means that students are awarded higher marks without demonstrating that they have higher levels of mastery.

Consequences of neoliberalism for research

1. Measurability for accountability 2. Permanent competition 3. Adoration of excellence 4. Process management without substance 5. Economic salvation narrative 6. Citation manipulation and audit culture